government – Page 229 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Compensation denied because police officers only saw the aftermath of fatal incident

In 2003, emergency responders attended a major rail incident at Waterfall in New South Wales, in which multiple passengers were injured and seven died. According to a 14 April 2010 article in The Australian (page 7, not yet(?) available online):

“The officers [David Wicks and Philip Sheehan] were among the first at the scene of the crash that killed seven people, including the driver, who lost control of the train after he had a heart attack”.

Those officers have been denied compensation under the NSW Civil Liability Act because

“they did not witness the crash, only its aftermath.”

Both police officers had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and been medically discharged.

Their claim for compensation has now reached the High Court of Australia Continue reading “Compensation denied because police officers only saw the aftermath of fatal incident”

BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

On 12 April 2010, the electronic media (video report available) reported a fatality at a BHP Billiton mine in Western Australia where

“a truck plunged 18 metres down a shaft at the Perseverance nickel mine near Leinster.”

Newspapers on 13 April 2010 have provided further details. The 45-year old man, Wayne Ross, was operating a “bogger” at the time. A profile of a bogger operator is available HERE. which reads

“Being a Bogger Operator is a very physically demanding job. You need to operate heavy excavators in dark damp conditions, however you will be well rewarded for this. Some Bogger operators can earn around $80,000 a year.”

The Leinster mine has been the site of several deaths since 2006. Four workers have died on BHP Billiton mine sites since July 2009.

The Age reports that the bogger the worker “was driving fell almost 20 metres down the mine shaft” and it took around 18 hours to retrieve his body. Continue reading “BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine”

Three Australian Safety Alerts – asbestos, rollercoaster and tilt-up construction

Workcover New South Wales issued three safety alerts in early April 2010 that deserve attention.

New South Wales seemed to have a spate of faults on amusement rides over the last few months – Ferris wheel, rollercoaster (with video). Continue reading “Three Australian Safety Alerts – asbestos, rollercoaster and tilt-up construction”

Safety professionals must understand RTW in order to avoid unnecessary costs

The rationale for the Australian government’s evangelism of harmonisation is the reduction of “red-tape” on the logic, or assumption, that business costs will also be reduced. Dr Mary Wyatt, according to a report on ABC News Online, says that cost reductions may be possible be reducing over-servicing of injured workers.

Dr Wyatt says:

“We have an increasing focus on the medicine, and we have lots of scans that tell us there are things wrong with our bodies, and then when those scans are done it’s often labelled as a serious problem, and then the worker gets worried and we often go off on a tangent..” Continue reading “Safety professionals must understand RTW in order to avoid unnecessary costs”

OHS as litmus on British election campaign

On 6 April 2010, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a general election for 6 May 2010. Dust off your copy of A Very British Coup or Yes, Minister and get ready to try to make sense of workplace policies, if they ever get a mention.

Workplace safety rarely gets a mention in election campaigns unless there is the misfortune for a major work-related catastrophe during the campaign. In these early days, OHS was never going to be mentioned but over the next month or so, it will be fascinating to see which political party mentions the issue first and with most emphasis.

David Cameron of the Conservative Party spoke passionately about OHS within the last six months. The Labour Party has the capacity to show that work fatality rates have fallen within their three terms of office (more below). The Liberal Democrats have no policy position yet on workplace safety. Basically it’s Vision vs Stability vs Uncertainty. Continue reading “OHS as litmus on British election campaign”

Insider’s perspective on workers’ compensation harmony process

Dr Mary Wyatt is an expert on the return-to-work sector in Australia. She was one of several expert speakers at the harmonisation conference in Melbourne at the end of March 2010. Her presentation is available online.

Dr Wyatt spoke from a national perspective and has said:

“The data we have tells us compensation system (sic) are not producing good results. Employees with a compensable condition have poorer outcomes than those who have the same condition in a non compensation situation. For example, those who have surgery have four times the odds of a poor outcome when the condition is compensable.” Continue reading “Insider’s perspective on workers’ compensation harmony process”

Minister says public service safety performance is lamentable

“….I would ….suggest that government (as employer and dutyholder, and as policy maker) can, and should, be an exemplar of OHS best practice. By taking the lead in the systematic management of occupational health and safety, government can influence the behaviour of individuals and firms upon whom duties are imposed by the OHS legislation.”

In 2004, Chris Maxwell QC wrote the above words in his review of the OHS legislation in Victoria. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (only available by subscription or hard copy) on 6 April 2010, the Minister for WorkCover, Tim Holding, seems to share some of Maxwell’s view. Holding is reported to have said in a speech that

“The truth is that the performance of workplace safety in the Victorian public service continues to be lamentable Continue reading “Minister says public service safety performance is lamentable”

Category: government

Compensation denied because police officers only saw the aftermath of fatal incident

Like this:

BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

Like this:

Three Australian Safety Alerts – asbestos, rollercoaster and tilt-up construction

Like this:

Safety professionals must understand RTW in order to avoid unnecessary costs

Like this:

OHS as litmus on British election campaign

Like this:

Insider’s perspective on workers’ compensation harmony process

Like this:

Minister says public service safety performance is lamentable

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: